


Suspicion

by Yana of the Arcana (sad_goomy)



Series: Break and Repair [3]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 08:17:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14745215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sad_goomy/pseuds/Yana%20of%20the%20Arcana
Summary: Their relationship is ill-defined and complicated, and while she wasn't looking to discover it, Portia certainly has a hunch about it.((Book VIII - Chapter 1))





	Suspicion

 

"You said we needed to talk?" 

Portia breaks her focus from the magic shop, swallowing the last of her awe and deciding to save those particular questions and observations for another time. She turns to look at the apprentice, who watches her with an amused expression that seems clouded by something else. "Oh! Sorry Yana, you're...you're..." 

No longer blinded by curiosity, Portia realizes that though she still doesn't know the apprentice very well, there are a few things wrong that she can immediately spot. She decides to start with the most obvious. "Your hair." 

"My hair." Yana doesn't seem used to it, either, and she twirls a short lock around her finger. 

Portia observes her a moment longer, chewing her lip and tilting her head from side to side, as if that might give her a different angle to view the haircut. With a smile, she concludes, "I like it." The apprentice smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes, and Portia tries to decipher what else is the matter. Yana is far from easy to read, but there's something about her eyes, and how she holds herself, that takes her usual quiet persona and transforms it into something just a little more cautious, a little more timid. Knowing a direct question won't get her anywhere, Portia decides instead to go about the roundabout way and see what that might yield. "What inspired this change?" 

 _Your brother._   

Yana's lip press into a tight line as she considers her answer. From what she can tell, Portia has no idea of what nature her relationship with Julian  ~~is~~   _was_. While she trusts the servant, maybe now isn't the best time to divulge that particular truth. "Just needed a change after getting frustrated with the investigation." It's not a total lie, she decides, although she can tell that Portia isn't quite buying it. 

Still, the servant's eyes flash with realization, and she mumbles, "Speaking of the investigation, that's actually what I came to talk to you about." When Yana remains silent, leaning against a counter and watching her, Portia decides it's her cue to continue, carefully gauging the apprentice's reaction. "Milady wanted me to check on how you were doing with it. You know, with Ily-...Julian." 

The two look at each other, each trying to hide behind a poker face and utterly failing to fool the other. Yana can sense Portia's trepidation, her silent plea to keep her brother safe. Portia, for her part, sees something flicker in Yana's eyes, can see her stand a little straighter at the mention of her brother's name. She can't pinpoint what's happening, but she's confident that Yana's feelings are more complex than those of a bounty hunter or investigator. 

"What do you want me to do?" 

Portia blinks. "Why does it matter what I want?" She throws in a quick laugh but it's clearly nervous, and she swallows the rest of it while searching Yana's face. 

Yana shrugs. "He's your brother. If I bring him to Nadia, he'll be hanged. Do you want that?" 

She holds her stare a moment longer but deflates with a sigh. "No, of course not." When she opens her eyes once more, her brows are furrowed. She wants the truth, and nothing but, and Yana braces herself for the question. "Do you?" 

 _At this particular moment? A little._   

But she knows that's not really the case. Yes, the past few days, part of her has stewed and simmered and decided that she's more than annoyed with the doctor. She has a few choice words for him and wouldn't mind giving him a smack upside the head for causing her such grief (although she suspects he wouldn't mind it too much). Still, at the heart of it all, her anger is mostly for show. 

She just wants him close again. 

"No." 

Though Portia might have tried to analyze the subtle expressions flitting across Yana's face, she's too relieved by her answer to give it much thought. With a trademark smile back in place, she holds out a hand to the apprentice as she chirps, "Great. So, we're partners then!" 

And as Yana shakes her hand with a chuckle, Portia decides she has several questions for the apprentice, and all of them have to do with her brother. 

 

* * *

 

She starts her own investigation on their walk to the Rowdy Raven. While she'd explained to the apprentice her reasoning behind her choice to start their search there, Yana hadn't seemed to need much convincing. If Portia thought about it for more than a moment, it struck her as a little suspicious that Yana so easily agreed. 

As they walk, Portia begins to get an inkling of what might be happening. 

"How many times have you run into him, exactly?" 

Yana looks at her from the corner of her eye, keeping her pace steady. Her gaze goes back to the road ahead, a road she isn't used to seeing in broad daylight and with a different Devorak by her side. "Not very often." It borders on a lie, but when she thinks back on it, Yana has only really spent a few nights with Julian. 

It doesn't seem fair that she cares for him so much already. 

Portia hums in thought, eyes narrowing and smirk growing. "What did you mean, exactly, when you said last night he pushed you away?" 

She visibly bristles. "Am I the one who's under investigation?" 

"Just curious." 

Yana can feel Portia catching on and prays that the tavern is close. "I meant that I offered to help and he rejected me." But there's a sting underneath it, some greater hurt that she's keeping closed off from the world. Portia keeps walking as she debates on whether to push the matter further, but before she can decide, Yana's eyes light up. "This is it, right?" 

"How did you know?" 

Portia levels her with a single look, and Yana can only sigh. It's always hard to say no to the girl, but it feels especially strange to deny her the truth surrounding her own brother. It feels like there's simultaneously too much and too little to tell her, and there's a chance that when she walks in, there will be nothing left to say about what could be happening between the doctor and the apprentice. "Portia," Yana pleads outside of the tavern, and she can see the girl soften when she realizes that they're in the same boat of being left to try and decipher the unknown, "I promise I'll tell you everything later, but right now it's complicated and we need to focus." 

Of course she knows that, but all the same Portia sighs, swearing that with each passing day her brother and the apprentice only get more secretive and mysterious. With a wink, she simply says, "I'll hold you to it." 

And then they're inside the bar. 

 

* * *

 

When Yana said she could deliver a good boot to the ass, she certainly wasn't kidding. 

Portia watches with wide eyes as the apprentice stands in front of the table her brother sits at, hands on her hips and eyes alight with something between fury and conviction. It's nearly enough to confirm her suspicions, hearing how worried Yana is and seeing her refuse to back down. 

The final proof she needs is Julian's face. The second he saw the apprentice, a glorious blush overtook his cheeks and he tried his best to sober up in his sorry state. In between his self-deprecating commentary and demands that they leave him, he looks at his sister with a plea, but he looks at Yana with something Portia can't identify until nearly the end of their conversation. 

 _Wanting._  

And the longer she looks at Yana, the more certain she is that the same type of desire colors the apprentice's face every time she looks at Julian. While Yana's expression starts as a mask of irritation, it quickly melts away and within minutes of berating Julian for his self-sabotage and pity party she's dropped it almost entirely and instead sits next to him, a hand on his shoulder as she watches him with worry and hope. 

It's more than enough to confirm Portia's suspicions. 

But now is the time to make a plan, not dwell on just what it is the two might feel for each other. She keeps her thoughts to herself, instead focusing on how to help her brother, and resolving that when this is all said and done and Julian is safe, she'll press the matter and get to the bottom of this. 

And she's going to give them so much shit for thinking they aren't so horrendously  _obvious_  in how they're falling in love. 

 


End file.
